Why bother?

[pdmike]

This is a great thread. Out of it comes a related question I have had for some time. It's probably answered somewhere in this thread, but I'm lazy, so here's my issue:

I have flown my Phantom 4 out of sight a number of times. Most of the time, I don't have to use RTH to get it back, but sometimes I get disoriented, and do have to use RTH. But that's not my issue. I have also flown my drone so far away that not only do I lose LOS, but I also lose electronic contact, i.e., my hand-held screen goes blank. What happens then? The first time it happened to me, I just punched the RTH button and got the drone back.

But what do you do when you lose both LOS and electronic contact? That's my question.

 

[Vzr1]

This is a great thread. Out of it comes a related question I have had for some time. It's probably answered somewhere in this thread, but I'm lazy, so here's my issue:

I have flown my Phantom 4 out of sight a number of times. Most of the time, I don't have to use RTH to get it back, but sometimes I get disoriented, and do have to use RTH. But that's not my issue. I have also flown my drone so far away that not only do I lose LOS, but I also lose electronic contact, i.e., my hand-held screen goes blank. What happens then? The first time it happened to me, I just punched the RTH button and got the drone back.

But what do you do when you lose both LOS and electronic contact? That's my question.

Well first your heart rate goes crazy thinking WTF where is it and you get dizzy spinning around looking for it and fall over....I guess you crash and burn, like in a car if you don’t stay in your lane or you’ll crash into someone

 

[pdmike]

OK, OK - but seriously, folks. What DO you do when you lose electronic contact? I'm sure there's more than one person on this thread who has had that happen. Feedback, please.

 

[Chrislaf]

But what do you do when you lose both LOS and electronic contact? That's my question.

If the drone still has GPS it will automatically RTH. If it looses GPS and the control signal, then it will drift with the wind unless it reacquires GPS. Therin lies the risk of flying out of VLOS.

Chris

 

[pdmike]

Thanks, Chris. That's what I thought. I can fly my P4 out of sight and still have electronic control but, if I continue flying it further away from my location, it will lose electronic control. Once you lose electronic control, you also lose GPS, right?

 

[Vzr1]

Thanks, Chris. That's what I thought. I can fly my P4 out of sight and still have electronic control but, if I continue flying it further away from my location, it will lose electronic control. Once you lose electronic control, you also lose GPS, right?

Ummm isn’t it illegal to fly it out of sight?

 

[pdmike]

Sure is.

 

[pdmike]

I had a friend who flew his P4 out of sight. He was arrested on the spot and is presently serving 15 to life in state prison for the offense. He had no priors. The quad was never found. His wife divorced him and is living in San Antonio with a retired pilot.

 

[Vzr1]

I had a friend who flew his P4 out of sight. He was arrested on the spot and is presently serving 15 to life in state prison for the offense. He had no priors. The quad was never found. His wife divorced him and is living in San Antonio with a retired pilot.

Do you visit him?

That’s insane LOL imagine sitting in prison big Bubba over in the corner saying what are you in for ...... oh flying my drone out of sight LOL

 

[WV. Rootman]

When you lose electronic control, the done doesn't lose GPS. You set what you want the drone to do next in the app. before you take off. The system works exactly as you set it. The system works well. The pilot is the veritable. I set my return much higher than the trees.

 

[pdmike]

Do you visit him?

That’s insane LOL imagine sitting in prison big Bubba over in the corner saying what are you in for ...... oh flying my drone out of sight LOL

No, I don't visit him. He's in Pelican Bay. I don't want to have anything to do with him. Someone who flies his drone out of sight? Are you kidding? He's where he belongs. He'll never get out. In California, 15 to life means life.

 

[pdmike]

When you lose electronic control, the done doesn't lose GPS. You set what you want the drone to do next in the app. before you take off. The system works exactly as you set it. The system works well. The pilot is the veritable. I set my return much higher than the trees.

Thanks for a legitimate reply. I wasn't aware of that. So I have to set the app to insure that the drone will RTH if electronic contact is lost? Can you tell me what the path is in the app to do that?

 

[WV. Rootman]

Thanks for a legitimate reply. I wasn't aware of that. So I have to set the app to insure that the drone will RTH if electronic contact is lost? Can you tell me what the path is in the app to do that?

No, it's to hover or return home. Many get into trouble by not setting their altitude high enough. Some by not making sure the home point was recorded. Flying in high winds may keep it from having the power to make it home. Birds can be another reason it won't make it home. All these examples can be rectified before the flight. Again, the pilot is the main factor for its success.
It's in the list of things you should be checking before you take off in the RTF section of the app.

 

[pdmike]

No, it's to hover or return home. Many get into trouble by not setting their altitude high enough. Some by not making sure the home point was recorded. Flying in high winds may keep it from having the power to make it home. Birds can be another reason it won't make it home. All these examples can be rectified before the flight. Again, the pilot is the main factor for its success.
It's in the list of things you should be checking before you take off in the RTF section of the app.

I remember those settings. The trick is to set the altitude higher than any trees or buildings or objects that might be in the way on a return flight home. I'll get out my manual and review those settings although, to tell the truth, I don't plan to be flying my quad out of sight, let alone out of electronic contact range. Makes me very nervous to do it.

 

[Harleydude]

Failure is one thing, what about situational awareness?

I'm always aware of my situation. I'm very diligent in that regard.

The scariest time for me happened this past January, I was flying my P3S well away from any airports (well beyond 5nm) in an isolated rural area off a trail in the bush and along comes a small plane just above the tree line.

There's not a lot one can do when full scale aviation goes rogue. Any fixed wings skimming the trees or rotor wing flying too low to autorotate gets what they get. Most of my jobs are in the 150-250 AGL range with some jobs as high as 400' AGL. If I'm in Class B, C or D, of course I'm extra cautious and extra diligent. But not much can be done if some yoyo decides to show off to his girlfriend. That said...

I'm not talking about FPV's 3 miles out. I rarely FPV over 1,500' to be honest with you. I usually HEAR full scale aviation vehicles before I see them. I pull the goggles, triangulate and adjust accordingly if necessary.

I saw him and quickly descended. If I was flying FPV there would have been no way for me to see him as he was to my left way out of the cameras field of view. I was startled and a bit shaken up. After I landed I re-checked my flight apps (UAV forecast, AirMap and TC Site selection tool) to see if I made a mistake.

Yeah....like I said, I don't fly FPV more than like 1,500' tops. So staying aware and halting operations is super easy if someone shows up in my flight zone.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see how far I could go with my drones but having an experience like the one above, I never want to take that risk.

Chris

Yeah...I hear ya. In the early days of FPV it was fun to see how far I could go. But now that I do it for a living, all I care about is safe, reliable operations and delivering quality product.

D

 

[Meta4]

RTH .. Looks good in the manual but I’ve read to many instances of it not functioning to expectations. I could be wrong.

RTH is very reliable and does what it's programmed to.
RTH problems are usually a result of pilots not understanding what RTH does and how it does it.

 

[Meta4]

OK, OK - but seriously, folks. What DO you do when you lose electronic contact? I'm sure there's more than one person on this thread who has had that happen. Feedback, please.

There's nothing you can do when you've lost control signal except hope.
Hope there are no obstacles on the return path and hope the wind at RTH height is not too strong.

If the drone still has GPS it will automatically RTH. If it looses GPS and the control signal, then it will drift with the wind unless it reacquires GPS.

The question was about losing control signal.
You are unlikely to lose control signal and GPS.

Therin lies the risk of flying out of VLOS.

There is no correlation between flying beyond visual range and losing GPS.

Once you lose electronic control, you also lose GPS, right?

No .. he was just confusing you.
You don't also lose GPS if you lose control signal.

Thanks for a legitimate reply. I wasn't aware of that. So I have to set the app to insure that the drone will RTH if electronic contact is lost? Can you tell me what the path is in the app to do that?

Return to Home is the default action for loss of signal.
It's set that way in the factory and won't change unless you change it.

It sounds like you should review the RTH section of the manual as understanding it is very important.
Then go out to a large, open area, fly the drone out 100 ft or so and switch off the controller to see what happens when you lose signal.

 

[Chrislaf]

There's nothing you can do when you've lost control signal except hope.
Hope there are no obstacles on the return path and hope the wind at RTH height is not too strong.

The question was about losing control signal.
You are unlikely to lose control signal and GPS.

There is no correlation between flying beyond visual range and losing GPS.

No .. he was just confusing you.
You don't also lose GPS if you lose control signal.

Return to Home is the default action for loss of signal.
It's set that way in the factory and won't change unless you change it.

It sounds like you should review the RTH section of the manual as understanding it is very important.
Then go out to a large, open area, fly the drone out 100 ft or so and switch off the controller to see what happens when you lose signal.

Wasn’t trying to confuse anyone, just trying to help.
I get the feeling I shouldn’t have tried to help and should have left the replies to the experts.

Chris

 

[WV. Rootman]

Hey, we all learn by sharing our thoughts. By your statements, issues were brought up. Others read and things were clarified. If we all kept quiet, nothing shared, nothing learned.

 

[MaxE1955!]

RTH is very reliable and does what it's programmed to.
RTH problems are usually a result of pilots not understanding what RTH does and how it does it.

I’ve never used RTH, electing to fly it myself. Never had a disconnect that required it so I have no first hand experience other than what has been reported.